Month: January 2017

I’ve pretty much heard that phrase all of my life… “Don’t worry, one day you’ll love it.” Yes, while there is some advantage to being tall, and I do like it some days…I’m still not quite sure that I “love it” yet! Ever since I was young I’ve been in a love-hate relationship with my height. I’m sure everyone has that one thing they would like to change about themselves, and mine was always my height.

For those of you that are 5ft 10in+ I’m sure you can relate to the below list of 20 tall girl problems:

Unable to cross your legs while sitting at a desk

By the time you find pants that are long enough, they’re 5 sizes too big

Being asked once a week… “Do/Did you play basketball?”

All the cute short dresses that would be an appropriate length on other girls barely cover your butt

Having to stand back 10 ft. or bending over in order to see your outfit in a full-length mirror

Floor length dresses… more like mid-calf tunics

Getting a backache from stooping down to wash dishes

Having legs longer than some of your friends’ bodies

If people don’t know your name they call you “Tall Girl” (in my case this was a high school teacher–worked wonders for the confidence)

Hugs can be awkward (hard not to smother people in your chest)

When you look like a hussy in shorts or skirts because of your long legs (I only wore shorts 1 day out of my 4 years in high school– the very last day as I had technically already graduated)

Not being able to borrow your friend’s clothes because they are too short.

Growing up I was always taller than most (yes girls and boys for a while… you know it takes the boys a while to get going) I felt like I stuck out in a crowd and always wanted to slouch to try and fit in with others my age. Shopping with my mom always brought strange looks. You see, my mother is 5ft 1.5 inches tall (don’t forget the 1/2) so when we went to Petite Sophisticate to shop for my mom, people would just look at me like, “What are you doing in here?” I’m pretty sure I was close to my mom’s height in 3rd grade, I know we wore the same size shoe that year. Middle school dances were the worst, being a head taller than everyone in the crowd when you have NO rhythm is SUPER FUN, let me tell you!

If I were tall and proportionate I might have learned to like it a little more, but being all legs and arms can be a bit difficult when purchasing clothes. You see I have an inseam of 35″ (if I want to wear flats) and 36″-37″ if I want to wear anything with a heel. I had a doctor tell me that if my body was proportionate with my leg and arm length I would be 6ft 4in. So my pants are usually too short and my arm length on shirts and coats are usually too short.

I did a little research and found out that the average height for women in the US is 63.8 inches or 5ft 4in (rounding up). The average height for men in the US is 70 inches or 5ft 10in. So, standing flat foot at 71 inches (just had my husband measure me to get it right) I guess I’m technically taller than the average man and woman in the US. That made me curious about averages in other countries. I searched for the countries with the tallest averages and found that women in Latvia stand at an average height of 5ft 7 in (rounding up) and men in The Netherlands stand at an average height of 6 ft. (again, rounding up) So, you could say that I’m on the taller side of most.

My son has the potential to be tall as well. At his last Dr. visit (8-year-old check-up) when the doctor pulled out the growth chart he told us that he is taller than 60% of 10-year-olds at his age. Our first pediatrician (before we moved) gave us an estimate of 6ft 5in. For an athletic little boy who is truly ambidextrous and LOVES baseball… this is a very positive thing.

I’ve been watching my oldest daughter (10 going on 11) the past 6 months as her little girl body is starting to stretch out and form into a young lady’s figure. While I am NOT ready for that AT ALL (… and my husband just says, “I don’t want to talk about it…”) I recognize that she is going to be a lot like me, TALL, disproportionately tall!

I’ve pretty much had a self-confidence problem ever since I began to stick out as “the tall girl.” For a very long time, I wished I was dainty or smaller. My height made me feel masculine, and clumsy. People (including me) have a view of how things are supposed to be, the man is supposed to be taller than the woman! There was even a dad of a good guy friend of mine growing up that told my mom we could never end up together because I was just too tall for him. I recently read a quote that said, “Sometimes, one of the toughest mental health challenges we face is simply learning to feel good about ourselves.” ~ Tara Parker-Pope This is SO TRUE, and definitely, something that I want to help my daughter with as she grows.

I’ve found the best way to teach my kids, is by example. Their little eyes are always watching and their ears, always listening. Therefore, I’m making it a goal to love myself more this year. I want my daughter to see that I have self-confidence and that I’m comfortable in my own body so that she can learn to build her own confidence. Instead of complaining about all the challenges of being tall I’m going to focus on the pros of being in the top percentile for height. Being tall has a set of perks and I’ve not thought about those enough. So I’m going to start focusing on those and I’m going to start showing some self-love because I have a very special gift.

Surprising perks of being tall:

Even if you aren’t good at sports you were probably at least put on the team. All you have to do is show up and you’ll be relatively good at sports – I Can’t tell you how many times I heard growing up, “just put your hands up.. you’ll block them or get the ball”

…AND people always assume you were good at sports just because you’re tall

You can always be comfortable standing in a pool… even in the 5-6 ft. area

You don’t HAVE to wear heels

…But when you do, you feel like a super model

You can walk places super fast (long stride)

You can go on all the rollercoasters

More organizational space–you can reach the top of cabinets or closets

Drive through windows are NO problem

You can see in a crowd

…AND at the movies

Cash Money – research says those who are taller make more money!

People pay attention to you

Lightbulbs are a breeze

You SLAY at Maxi dresses — no need to gather up one side to walk or tie a knot so you don’t trip

Best seat in the car – SHOTGUN… only place your legs will fit!

No one can steal your shoes or clothes

People notice you and take you seriously from a young age

Saftey– you’re less portable so creepy men won’t mess with you!

You can take the stairs 3 at a time

Thinking back to another post I Said to Myself, it’s all about the way I talk to myself. In moments when I start to feel awkward, I just need to tell myself that I’m beautiful in my creator’s eyes… he made me perfect! I need to hold my head high and help my daughter do the same because every thought we think is creating our future. I want her to see a bright future, stand tall and have the self-confidence of a strong confident woman. One day she’s going to be able to see over the crowd… I hope for now she can keep her head high and above all the clutter.

Oh… and I’m happy to report that I did find a special man that I happen to look right in the eye’s, flat footed, my inseam is longer than his… and I can generally reach things he can’t because my arms are so long… AND he loves to stand next to me in heels! Love you, babe… thanks for helping me daily with my self-confidence!

Yes, for those of you who are familiar with the TV series Friends you already know who Rachel Green is, or was (Oh man has it really been 13 years since that show ended -YIKES I’m old!!) In fact, you are probably singing the song in your head now…”I’ll be there for you… when the rain starts to fall….”

BUT, for those of you who are not so familiar with Friends let me introduce Rachel Karen Green. She was the character played by Jennifer Anniston. The spoiled rich kid who instead or marrying her fiance Barry left him at the altar and moved into the city (New York City) with no money, no job, and no place to live. After meeting up with a long-lost friend from high school, Monica Geller (played by Courteney Cox) she moved in with her, became friends with all of her friends and got a job as a waitress at the local coffee shop.

Now you’re probably wondering WHY in the world would anyone want to be like that? Well, for those of you that have seen the series, you know that Rachel gets fed up with her job at the coffee-house and breaks her way into the fashion biz at Bloomingdale’s. Eventually, she moves up the ladder and on over to Ralph Lauren where she becomes a Merchandising Manager/Product Developer. Now that’s the Rachel Karen Green that I wanted to be.

The reason I say I wanted to be her before I knew she existed is because Friends aired from 1994-2004, however, I didn’t start watching the show (I highly recommend starting from the beginning … all seasons are on Netflix) until 2002. I was already in college and well on my way to graduating with my Bachelors of Science in Apparel Merchandising, Design and Product Development.

So yes, I dreamed of being in New York one day as an Apparel Merchandiser or designer, jet setting off overseas to Milan and Paris to see what trends would be heading west in the next couple seasons. From before I had my driver’s license I had a job at one of the most fashion-forward boutiques in Birmingham, AL (don’t laugh they actually exist in the deep south too… you should check them out here…). I was fortunate enough to get to go on a few buying trips with the team when I was in high school (which I will forever be grateful… what an opportunity for a high schooler!) It was there that I fell in love with fashion, the business of fashion and the art of apparel… and yes, those of you who know me SHOES!!! Shoes that I had NO business buying at my age, but I just couldn’t help myself.

After high school, I went on to college to pursue my degree so that I could get started in my dream job somewhere in the fashion world. I found a few sketches from a Sr. Project the other day… man those were the days, sitting around with sketch pads and pencils doodling, I’m lucky now if I get to borrow one of my kid’s crayons to jot down something I forgot to put on my grocery list.

One of my fashion doodles

After college, I interned with Saks, Inc. Corporate Headquarters in the buying offices and ultimately got a full-time offer (I worked in the Children’s area, Home and Men’s while I was there). Then it was off to Baltimore Maryland to work for Jos. A. Bank Headquarters as an Assistant Merchandise Manger and was then promoted to Merchandise Manager a few months after joining. I was living my dream, I was 23, A Merchandise Manager working in the fashion industry (my husband LOVED that I worked in men’s clothing… he got LOTS of samples) making pretty good money and the Lord had different plans. just three months after Daniel and I were married we found out we were pregnant with our first child… SCARY!!! I was always one who wanted to wait to have kids, work towards my career for a while and one day I would have kids. FUNNY that is NOT what happened at all!

Daniel and I moved back to Birmingham so we could be close to family… I mean I needed my mom, I had no idea how to be a mom, I was 23 and had done my deal of babysitting growing up but that was easy, you swoop in play with the kids and put them to bed…and people paid you for it.. this was going to be WAY different!

Our firstborn came into the world (that could be a whole blog on its own… Little Miss I had to take 18 hours before I finally decided to come) and once she arrived (and yes a second and a third) I had a string of various jobs that ended up pointing me into a marketing career. I’ve worked for large companies, small companies and currently work for a large global marketing agency which I must say is THE BEST… I thoroughly enjoy my job (yes, I have my days… just like we all do) and feel very blessed that I have been given the opportunity to be a part of an amazing team.

Where am I going with all of this you ask… good question, I just stopped to reread what I had typed and I am ALL OVER THE PLACE … If you know me and my dad, you know we have a hard time “landing the plane” HA, I don’t JUST look like you, dad!

But I realized something while on this journey. At some point, it developed into a love of business, not just the Fashion business (I think I’m close to a 50/50 when it comes to right brain/left brain). Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy putting stuff together, doodling when I have the chance, and tapping into my more artsy side. BUT, working with a brand or a specific product and using data to inform a marketing and sales strategy is more exciting to me these days.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but my biggest challenge has always been time. If I just had a few more hours in a day, it would be perfect. But I’ve learned that time is a limited commodity, it’s all about being focused and trusting others to help you instead of doing everything yourself!

So when I was presented with an opportunity to build a business with Rodan and Fields this past year, I took a long hard look (think like 9 months hard look), I did my research, I tested the products for 8 months and here is what I learned.

Here is a company run by two Stanford-educated women and doctors with a top-notch product in a multi-billion dollar industry. Remember Proactive??? (it changed the face of acne). The same doctors who created Proactive saw the want/need in the market for an anti-aging line and went to work.

The Products – at first these products were sold in high-end department stores only and ended up being the leading clinical skincare brand at Nordstrom. It was so successful that they began to see the products in the major magazines winning readers and editors choice awards. The Stanford-educated founders Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields decided to bring dermatology to the masses and break into the direct sales market. Their reach has become incredible making them the fastest growing premium skin care company/brand in North America over the big three… Estee Lauder, Lancôme and Clinique.

How good can they be you ask? Well, when we to Sedona this past November I received so many compliments on my skin (and I had absolutely NO makeup on – remember my posts on our hiking excursions) by the time I made it home I had 7 orders!

I’m so excited about this business but have been skeptical about sharing it outwardly with my friends and family as I was worried about what people would think. You see direct sales comes with a stigma. Believe me, I know… I was one of those that thought the same thing. BUT, then I realized I’ve been able to build a pretty decent following for R+F in three short months (an extra paycheck each month is NICE) and I haven’t even scratched the surface, nor have I ever announced to my family and friends that I’m even doing this. SO, in 2017 I’m not holding back. I have some pretty big goals for myself and my team one of them is to trust my gut and not worry what others think. I’m going to put myself out there and grow this business to what I KNOW it can be.

SO….it’s out there… I finally announced it publicly and now it’s time to see this thing grow even bigger…Here’s to a BIG 2017!!!!!

2017 – A new year brings new opportunities, new adventures and the chance to make some new changes in your life. It’s now day two of 2017 (yes I was super lazy yesterday on day one, but had fun hanging out with my kids) and I am thinking of all the things I want to do in the new year.

I want to be more financially stable, I want to spend more time with my kids, I want to excel in my career, I want to build something of my own, I want to be a better mom and wife, I want to be more healthy, I want to create good habits. I’ve been really good at setting goals in the past. I have spent lots of time thinking through them, charting the course but when it comes time to execute (like a lot of moms) I put all of my goals and happiness last and make sure that everyone else is taken care of first. At the end of the year, I look back at my goals that are not attained in frustration.

I had some good ideas, think of how much better off I would be now if I had worked at those goals every day of 2016? Well, not this year! I’m NOT a tree… I don’t like where I am and I am going to move. NO one is going to do it for me and it’s not going to be easy. There will be hard days and even harder days, but that is not going to stop me pushing forward to accomplish some pretty big things for 2017.

One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain. This year I am going to focus daily on what I have to gain, financial freedom, extra time with my kiddos (who are growing too fast), personal growth, health, and good habits.

This year, I may be annoying to some, I may have people scratching their head at times, what I’m doing may look strange, nothing like me and something that you might not do in a million years. BUT, I will not worry about what others think (remember my post Don’t Be a Flat Squirrel!) I am going to be unapologetic about pursuing my goals and dreams this year. I’ll keep you updated on my progress because I need accountability, I’ll share my story along the way as I hope it helps you in chasing your dreams for 2017. Today is the beginning of whatever I want, and what I want for myself and my family is going to be BIG for 2017.